Of Fate and Destiny
by Musouka1991
Summary: Kagome finds a way back to the past after being gone for three years,but will what she finds make her want to leave it forever?She soon finds that fifty years have gone by and all hell has broken lose.And why is Sesshoumaru the one to welcome her back?
1. Prolong

If fate is the small steps that make up our destiny, then maybe it is safe to say that though we can not chose our fate- for it is upon us before we know it- we can make our destiny; in that we choose what to do with what fate has delt us. Afterall whatever the end product will be, it will be said that it was our "destiny".

**Of Fate and Destiny**

**Prolong**

The sun begun it's decent into the horizon as two figures stood on a hill facing it. They stood in silence, had not said a word since they had arrived which had only been a few minutes before.

The younger of the two broke the silence knowing full well that the older would not do so. "We can't hold off much longer."

"Hn." came the reply and the one who had spoken knew that it was an agreement. How they had held off so long was amazing in itself. A miracle really.

"Yasuo...she's mentioned something." this caught the older's attention and he turned slightly to face his companion.

"Did she?" He sounded bored but anyone who knew the youkai knew that such a simple phrase coming from him meant that he needed to know. And he did need to know, he was growing tired, as were many others.

"Yeah." the first hesitated as if what he would say next would change everything. "She said...it was time."

The second snorted slightly as the news. "Is she still so sure on our means of survival?"

The first became aggregated and defensive. "You said yourself that she had never been wrong! Why doubt her now?"

"No, she has never been wrong." the second concluded. "How are we to proceed?"

Once again the first hesitated, this time swallowing a good amount of pride. "Tomorrow night...Tomorrow night she will come and you have to go get her."

"Is that so?" the second asked which really meant, "Me? Why not you?"

"Yeah she said you."

"Very well then. And if it does not work?" he questioned

"Then screw us all."

"Indeed."

By now the sun had dropped and the two lingered only a while longer in silence. "Your travels, Inuyasha?"

"Feh...The whole damned forest is infected. I don't know how the hell you'll get there. They are still contained to the forest, but the magic is breaking. The moment you go...I'm sure it'll break." The other nodded into the night knowing full well the risk; but it was unavoidable. He had never been a creature of chance but here he was with no other option.

" 'From the depths of hell, the Light emerges deep within the dry abyss.'" He quoted solemnly the prophecy that had taken them months to decode and years to accept. "The night draws near. Tell them the time has come."

And then the older of the two was gone, and the one named Inuyasha remained. "Damit Sesshoumaru." he mumbled before also departing.

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Chapters will be longer. Please R&R so I know if I should continue :]


	2. Sleepless Nights

**Of Fate and Destiny**

**Chapter One: Sleepless Nights**

Her life had come down to infomercials. She was sure that after there years of trouble sleeping that she had memorized every infomercial known to man. Or at lest known to Japan.

She sighed turning off the TV. Her first year after the well had closed had been the worst year she ever had to face. The second year she felt like she had finally come to turns with her fate, but still at night if she wasn't exhausted from her day's activities, she found it hard to sleep at night. And now here she was, two months away from her complete third year. It had gotten better, but sometimes she couldn't help but sink into her secret depression.

Looking at the clock she drew her blanket over her tighter; 2 AM. Tomorrow she would travel home to spend the winter holidays with her family. Her mom had wondered why she would choose Shizuoka University instead of one in Tokyo when she was picking colleges two years prior. Kagome now understood that she had thought that if she maybe got further away from the well, that the longing would stop. That the nightmares would stop.

Tokyo was still only a three hour drive and she debated if she should just leave now; at least it would give her something to do. She groaned in defeat as she once more reached for the remote.

xxxx

It was always nice to go home; comfort was always to be found when she was with her family. Although she did have friends in college, there was no one that she was particularly close to. In two more years she would be done with college and she planned on moving back to Tokyo. Maybe by then she would have overcome the hope that she could go back to the past.

She pulled her car into the shrine, glad that her home was away from the commotion of the city. Stealing a glance at the well house, she continued into the house, deciding that she would pay it a visit later.

"And how is school Kagome?" Her mom asked her over dinner.

"Over for this semester!" she _**announced **_not ready to think about what next semester would include.

"Have you decided on a major?" Kagome knew the question was coming and she had almost feared it. Even if she was getting over the past, she could not decide how it was she wanted to spend her future. With history, she was obsessed. It seemed like it was her only choice to go into, something that her mother did not approve of.

"No mom, not yet." She answered with a smile, not wanting to tell her mother that she was at this point of time a history major.

After dinner her now sixteen year old brother informed her that it was his friend's birthday tonight so he would be spending the night with him, but he promised to spend the rest of her visit at home. "All right but only if you'll let me drive you." She teased.

Twenty minutes later Kagome learned that her little brother was loving high school, had a few friends that he was really close to, and had a girl of interest that he hoped he could go on a date with soon. As he left her car she couldn't help the bitter smile that came to her face. He had all the chances that she had been robbed of.

What would have her life been like had she never had to worry about saving the world in a time that was not her own. Guilt hit her and she shook the thoughts away. She could never give up her time spent in the past, it meant too much to her. Parking for the second time of the day, she noticed that the moon was leading the path to the well house. Deciding that her mom had most likely gone to sleep, she followed it, pulling her jacket tighter around her.

"Hello you old well." She said out loud as she sat on the lip. For a few minutes she simply sat there, allowing the memories and the feelings to flow back.

But the thoughts always lead to the same place. To the last few moments that she had had there and wondering what had happened when she left. Not that she had chosen to leave, but she had been forced. Something that even now made no sense to her.

"_It's your choice Inuyasha, the jewel is yours."_

"_How can I deny her what I promised? Tell me Kagome?"_

"_Then take it."_

Only after a year from that moment would she realize that he was not trying to explain himself, he was begging her to give him an alternate route.

"Kagome?" She jumped at the sound of her mom's voice. "I thought I would find you here."

Kagome hurried to whip a stay tear away before her mom too took a seat. "You always return here." Kagome said nothing, feeling a little betrayed for her mom to walk in on her silent time.

"You know even when you were young, you were drawn to the well." This surprised her and she looked at her mom and to the sadness written on her face. "I had hoped that once you were home that you would be happy. That you could lead a normal life…but that is not the case, is it?"

"I'm moving on mom." She argued. "Sometimes I just like to remember." Her mom nodded.

"We like to remember the good things that have happened to us. So you chose to remember, even when it causes you pain." Kagome said nothing to this, choosing to look back down into the wells depths. How many times did she wish she could run away there?

"Would you go back?" Her mother's voice cracked and Kagome was surprised at both her emotion and her line of questioning.

"I…I don't know." She said it to comfort her mother, but she knew it was a lie. If she could only go back once more- she would do it in a heartbeat. "Why are you asking all this?"

The silence stretched and then her mother stood. "Just an old woman's worry I guess." She answered her voice no longer sad. "Come inside, its cold." Kagome nodded and joined her after looking once more down the well.

xxxx

After three weeks of being home, Kagome would return to her own apartment and school tomorrow. Of course on a night like this, she could not sleep. One week from tomorrow would be the three year anniversary.

The night felt different, as if there was an edge to it, a warning of danger. It had been a long while since she had used her miko powers to meditate but she could not resist the urging and pulling in her soul that was telling her to do so now. Not fighting the excitement that laced through her body she pulled on a hoodie as well as a jacket, slipped on her shoes and headed outside.

She was thankful that no one was awake to question her strange behavior. She walked over to the shrine that was located near the well house. Her grandfather kept the shrine clean and she was able to locate some matches to light a candle. She shivered as she found a place on the ground to sit. Although she was a miko, she had never thought of coming to the shrine to meditate, but tonight she could not explain how right it felt.

Getting comfortable she closed her eyes sitting Indian style. She really had never learned how to mediate, seeing that she had not had much training, but it couldn't be that hard she reasoned.

She called her powers to her, surprised when she felt them flow through her so easily. It had at least been two years since she had accessed her powers at all. Holding out her hand she felt it get warm and she opened her eyes shocked to see a purple fire floating above her hand.

Nothing like this had ever happened, even when she was battling. She closed her palm into a fist stopping the small harmless fire. Again she called her powers to her, this time she felt some thing that scared her. Her arms began to shake as her hands glowed with a bright purple. This could not be her power, it was much more then it had ever been and she scrambled to her feet in fear.

But the shaking did not stop, it got worse. Soon it felt as if her whole body was shaking under some unknown pressure that she could not control. She tried to stop it, but the power only built up more. Finally the pressure met its climax and she was thrown to the ground as the power left her hands and traveled like a ball of light away from her, through the wall of the shrine.

She cursed as she lay face down on the floor of the shrine. She felt as if she had just battled a hundred demons and now she had not even the strength to pull herself up. After some minutes passed by, she forced herself up praying that she had not caused too much damage.

Gasping at the site she was witnessing she pulled herself to her feet. Whatever it was that had left her hands, had traveled through the shrine wall, into the well house and down the well. How did she know that it had traveled down the well? One could never be too sure but the way that the well was now glowing a bright purple seemed like a good indicator to her.

It occurred to her then what this meant; the well was open. What else could it mean? Her heart skipped a beat as she thought of the possibilities of this being true. The more time she let go by, the more she felt this window of opportunity would close.

Without another thought she ran for her room. There wasn't much that she left in her old room, but she was able to find a black backpack. Switching her shoes for some brazo boots, she threw a pair of jeans and sweats as well as some T-shirts, sock, underwear, bras, and tennie shoes before zipping it close. She also dropped her ipod and camera into one of the pockets.

Deciding there was simply no time to waste she hurried down the stairs only stopping when she noticed her mom was sitting at the table.

"M-mom." She stuttered not sure what she should tell her.

"You're leaving? You're going back." Tears started to form at her eyes, but how could she tell her mom how desperately she needed to see if it would work.

"I have to try." She told her in a whisper and her mom stood up and looked her over.

"I always knew that it wasn't over…and this time…I know you won't come back." Her mom's voice cracked with the last few words, and Kagome wondered if she was right. What if she wasn't allowed to come back? Could she live with that? _Can I continue to live like this?_

"What's going on?" Kagome turned to see a tired Souta and her grandpa enter the kitchen.

"You're leaving early sis?" Kagome felt tears slid down her face in guilt and frustration. Was she so focused on the well that she was willing to leave her family without a goodbye? But even as she thought this, she worried that if she didn't hurry the well would close.

"Kagome, child, we can not keep you from fate." Her grandpa spoke and Kagome felt more tears fall.

"You're…you're going back?" Souta asked finally catching on to what was going on. "But you've only been here for three years! You can't leave."

"This is beyond us Souta. Something that none of us can control." Kagome heard her mom say and she realized that she was the only one that wasn't talking here.

"I have to see." She pleaded as she looked at her brother who was now slightly taller then she was now.

She saw her brothers eyes tears up as he swallowed. He nodded as he looked away. "Go now." Her Grandpa told her and she went to hug him tightly.

"I'm sorry Souta." She told him as she hugged her brother next.

"I don't understand…but I love you Kagome."

"I love you too, and I am so proud of you." She told him before turning to her mother and hugging her tightly also.

Here no words were needed only the warmth of love. As they broke away Kagome felt as if she was leaving warmth to embrace the cold.

And with that she turned and left the kitchen, walked through the back door and into the night.

The tears were still falling as she jumped into the well but she couldn't ignore the feeling of hope.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well i have gone back through and made some more edits! please read and review! :]  
**


	3. The Dry Abyss

**Of Fate and Destiny**

**Chapter Two: The Dry Abyss**

Her first thought was that the well didn't work; the well house roof was still over her. She must have imagined the pull of magic and had made a huge scene in front of her family only to prove that well was still closed like it always had been. Perhaps she could sneak out and find her way home, so to pretend that it had worked and to escape her embarrassment. If it hadn't been for the moment that she spent in silence, Kagome would have missed the feeling of evil that hung in the air.

Since she did spend a moment in silence, she felt the evil and the cold creep over her and not stopping there, but coming into her very being, clawing at her soul. She shivered and questioned if she should remove herself from the bottom of the well. Distantly she wondered why they would have decided to build a well house sometime in her three year absence.

"Once Inuyasha knows I'm here, he'll come and save me." She told her self ignoring the more reasonable part of her brain that was telling her that something had gone terrible wrong.

Slowly she made her way out of the well, not daring to open the doors just yet. The evil presence was much more pronounced now and she thought that in the distance she could hear screams and cries. Shuddering she debated if she should jump back down the well to a place where she was safe. Making up her mind she went to slid open the door that was so much like the one at her home.

This plan, however, did not work due to the yellow barrier that pushed back at her. Stumbling back she found a seat on the lip of the well facing the door. What was going on? Not ready to give up and go home just yet, she closed her eyes stretching out her powers, trying to get some feel at what was going on in the outside world.

At first she could find nothing but the evil, but after a few seconds of searching she found two auras coming against each other. Someone was fighting the evil. Now that she had found it, it seemed the someone was powerful. Whoever it was, they're energy was similar to the barrier that was now surrounding her.

How long she focused on that battle, she couldn't say. As if mesmerized she continued to focus on it, feeling it as it got closer and closer to her, and silently she prayed that it was Inuyasha, not matter how mush she knew it wasn't.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru crouched low to the ground trying to regain his strength. He had avoided the Inuyasha forest for five years now and it seemed for a good reason. Fifty years ago he would have never admitted to this cowardice, but this time he was up against hell- something that he could not take lightly.

He had felt her touch his barrier and that at least brought him the reassurance that this was all not in vain and that Yasuo had been right in that sense. He stood wondering from where the darkness would strike next. The fact that they were no longer coming at him was alarming. Maybe it meant that they to felt a miko's presence and decided that he was no longer important.

Whipping the blood that had came from his mouth he ran to the well house. Their were others in the forest that were on his side, but to interfere now, to help him now, would mean to give up on the well laid out plan that had been decided for this moment long ago. The only time they could take over his mission was if he died, and he of course could not die.

He heard the sound of a blade and stopped running just in time to catch it. The key to fighting in the forest was not to relay on your eyes. The damn creatures could fade in and out, choosing when to be visible and when to remain unseen.

_Light, wwe feel the light!_

They shrieked and he growled in his throat. If they knew she was here then they would also be trying to break the well house barrier.

Kagome jumped as lightening struck over her. Rain began to fall heavy on the roof and she shivered. Was it time to jump down the well again? Something about the era seemed much more dark and dangerous then ever. True she did want to go to the past, but not to face another battle. She had after all faced her battle, but it wouldn't surprise her if fate had other plans.

A knocking sound came to the door followed by a hiss. Nervously she stood, wondering if she should pretend she wasn't there at all. "We know you're there, girl." A deep and edgy voice called to her and she stepped further away from the door. "Let down this barrier and perhaps we'll save your life when we get to you."

Yup she was defiantly up for another battle. Deciding that this was an opportune time to vanish to her own time, she closed her eyes and jumped into the well, hitting the dirt floor with a plomp. "Damit!"

A laugh came from the door. "Looks like you're stuck miko. Don't be such a coward, come out and face us!" Kagome distantly wondered who "us" was and choose to remain silent at the bottom of the well.

The voice did not address her again but by the sound of metal on metal she was guessing that who ever it was, was being preoccupied at the moment-something that she was not complaining about. Now if only she knew who the hell it was who was protecting her and why, maybe she would feel a little better about her situation.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, fallowed by another flash of light and piercing screams and finally followed by an eerie silence.

She felt the barrier shake and give way and Kagome trembled at the bottom of the well. The well house door slid open and she noticed that the aura of the youkai that had now entered in the well house was very familiar…if only she could place it.

"Miko." A shiver shot down her spin.

"Sesshoumaru." She whispered and sure enough she was soon seeing his face looking down at her.

xxxx

Sesshoumaru was taken over by surprise when he first glanced down at her and he had to forcefully push the questions away in favor of leaving the heart of the forest before the dark creatures had time to regroup; which they would do very soon.

The smell of her fear and confusion was very thick and he could assume she was trying to calculate if he was a friend or foe. He would have informed her that he was neither at this point, but there was no time for talk.

"I have no time for fear miko." He told her coldly and jumped down the well to retrieve her. His feet hit the ground and she stood, pushing herself as much as she could into the wall. Now that he was so close to her, there was no way to deny her youth, and she was a youth. Although fifty years had passed since she had returned it seemed for her that it was no more then a few years. His doubt that their fate rested in the girl's hands increased, but once again there was no time for all these doubts and questions.

"We're leaving." He grabbed her waist and jumped from the well. Seemingly to have finally found her voice he heard squeal slightly in his ear. He remained carrying her , something that would have been below him many years ago, but at human speed they would both be dead in a matter of hours.

Kagome swallowed hard as he sped off. She felt her stomach jump in her throat as the world went by in a blur. Not knowing what to really do about her current situation, she had helplessly allowed him to carry off to who knows were.

They came to a sudden stop and she assumed that he had been struck due to the way she was thrown in the air and soon met the ground. "Hey!" she exclaimed finally finding her voice.

She got to her feet ready to tell him off and demand answers but was once again silenced by the sight in front of her. Sesshoumaru was suffering from a very large gash that extended from his abdomen to his left leg. It was not only gushing blood but…was bubbling…poison maybe?

Gold eyes looked her over and then slightly behind her. In a flash he had jumped over her puling out his sword and cutting through something that she apparently hadn't seen. She turned, quickly losing her balance and falling on her butt to the ground.

Kagome felt as if she had been thrown in to some kind of alternate reality that she couldn't make any sense of. Here was Sesshoumaru fighting to protect her and if that wasn't strange enough, he was fighting with Tenseiga; apparently bring the opponent to life- just to kill it with his whip or claws.

Her attention was redirected to the sudden claws that had garbed her arm. Instead of being thrown or carried away like she was sure she was going to, there was a hiss and the claw released her.

Turning to face her enemy she shivered as she scrambled to her feet. The…thing that had grabbed her looked something like a zombie of some sort. It's gray-blue flash was falling off it's body and it wore no clothes of any sort. It was currently looking to it's hand that looked as if it had been melted off. Another one that was similar, only a different facial structure _landed _next to the one that had attacked her.

It's black eyes glanced over her and then to his partners hand. He told him something that sounded only like snarls and yelps. The other nodded and the new…zombie… reached out for her, to which she turned and ran from realizing that she should have done it sooner.

Sesshoumaru was no where in sight, but still she ran not even knowing where she was going. Maybe she'd find Inuyasha, or maybe she find a way back to her time where she was safe and no zombie-youkai existed. She collided with a body and found herself on top of another zombie.

Screaming she pushed her self only to have the zombie also scream and she looked down to see that her flesh had seemingly burnt his in several places. She had not time to catch her breath or continuing running, because arms were suddenly around her waste and pulling her up to into the air.

She started to scream and kick but a voice soon reasoned to her. "Miko if you continue to kick, I will drop you and we will never get out of here." She stopped fighting at the sound of Sesshoumaru's voice. Although his voice had been cold and distant, she thought she had heard a strain to it. She also noticed that he had said "we", implying that he would not leave without her.

Sesshoumaru went as fast as he could, hoping that his speed would get them out. They were currently an hour away from they're set destination and he was beginning to think they would never make it. The forest had now gone quiet and _they _were probably regrouping.

He held the miko awkwardly, trying to avoid her resting over his fresh cut, but she did not complain. She had been silent since he had spoken. He, of course, remained silent too- to many questions and thoughts running through his head to even attempt to talk. Like how the miko had not aged in fifty years? Or how she had managed to melt the flesh off the minions? And of course, if they would ever get out of this damned forest?

Sesshoumaru never worried about facing down an opponent, but he knew that with this one, he would need assistance to bring them down. However, he was doubtful that that assistance would come in the form of a human girl. Had he really stooped that low?

Surely, he was soon to find out.


	4. Into the Sky

**Chapter Three: In to the Sky**

**Of Fate and Destiny**

Kagome was jerked into consciousness as Sesshoumaru landed on the ground. How she fell asleep in such an uncomfortable position, she blamed on the fact that she had been up for if not 24 hours, very close to it. They seemed to be out of the forest but even after Sesshoumaru had let her go she stood close to him, scared that the zombies would come out at any time.

"Inside miko." She jumped at his deep voice but noticed that there was a shack just a few feet away from them. She thought it strange for it to just be standing there in the middle of an empty meadow. Looking around she noticed that the Inuyasha Forest was no where in site, and she had no idea where she was or if she was even safe. Although she did conclude that being with Sesshoumaru had to be better then being with the zombies.

"You will find a bed to sleep on inside." He said as if to convince her to go inside.

"Are you coming?" his eyes met her before looking away. "Your cut…shouldn't it be looked at?" she added as if to convince _him _to go inside with her.

"I need to bath." He answered her and all Kagome could manage was an "Oh." Not really knowing what to say.

"What's going on?" she finally asked and he returned his eyes to her once again.

"There will be time for explanation later when we are in a stable setting." He told her now walking over to the shack and opening the door. "This is a safe place, protected with barriers and magic from the outside. However, it is only safe if you are inside. Stay inside until I return."

Disappointed with his answer even if she wasn't really expecting an explanation, she nodded and made her way into the dusty shack asking herself why he couldn't pick a cleaner place to be a "safe place". Not really trusting the barriers and magic that were seemingly undetectable, she decided to stay awake until he returned. Her body had other plans, however, and she was asleep as soon as she curled up into the well laid out pallet.

xxxx

"Mysoua, I would have expected your assistance earlier, or was the situation not dire enough?" Sesshoumaru swiftly removed his clothing tossing them and stepping into the hot spring that he had located.

His companion that had just joined him in the darkness hesitated to answer, his eyes glancing at the gash his Lord had suffered. "Allow me to bandage that, my Lord."

Sesshoumaru glanced down at his injury. It no longer hurt, as it was being fused closed with some kind of poison, something he wasn't sure was a good thing or not. He would not know if his own poison would cancel the poison out until it was too late. "No bandage needed." He replied aloofly.

"My Lord, we did try to aid but they knew of our presence, we too were fighting for our lives just to find out where you were and if you would need our assistance." The youkai admitted to him and Sesshoumaru said nothing choosing to clean off the remaining stench from his body.

"Clothes Mysoua." He stated more then asked, as always his voice was distant and hard as if nothing around them or their predicament could affect him, although his mind was in overdrive.

"At the safe place my Lord." His subordinate replied.

"Retrieve them, do not startle the miko." He told him, turning his back to tell him that he was done talking to him for the time being.

So the creatures of the forest must have known of their plan in some way, something that was alarming to him. Either one who knew their plan was a spy or perhaps some other reason. Perhaps they had only prepared for such a plan, not that they had known it.

His minded drifted to the miko who was only but a mile from him. What could she possibly offer in the current situation? He had already decided that Inuyasha would be the one to inform her of all that had taken place, especially now that more mystery was surrounding the case. Inuyasha had made it seem that the well worked on the same time frame on either side of the well, although it was obvious that was not the case. Unless the girl was immortal, which he thought was highly unlikely. Of course he had also thought it highly unlikely that he would ever entrust Inuyasha to watching over the Westeren Lands while he went to retrieve some human girl that was suppose to save them all- something that he still _highly _doubted.

He heard Mysoua return and he turned his face slightly to him. "None of you report to the Westeren Lands of anything that has happened." The last thing he wanted was for Inuyasha to irrationally make his way over here under some indication of trouble.

"Yes my Lord." Sesshoumaru turned his face back and Mysoua took his leave.

Kagome shot up straight up at the sound of someone shuffling into the shack. Realizing it was only Sesshoumaru she tried to take a deep breath to slow her racing heartbeat. "You scared me."

"Apparently. Sleep." She looked at him for a few seconds wondering why he would bother sleeping in the small crammed space with her anyway.

"I want to know what's going on." She decided to say instead of asking about his presence in the small shack. He looked her over slowly as if deciding on what should be said to her by only her looks.

"So would I miko, but patience's call is louder." For a moment all she could was look at him with a frown, wondering what the hell had happened and if the Sesshoumaru that was always deadly serious had just made, in some weird way, a joke.

"I have been thrown into a completely alternate universe so I need to know something. Something like where is Inuyasha? Why are you here rescuing me? What the _hell _happened to the Inuyasha forest? These would be some good places to start!" she told him building her voice up as she went along. His cold eyes met hers and she distantly thought maybe she crossed a line.

"I do not feel obligated to tell you. However, if you do not sleep now, I will be obligated to make you. You will see Inuyasha soon enough and he will answer your questions." He then took his eyes away from her as if to say that he was done discussing the matter. Huffing she laid back down, pulling the blanket over her. Her determination to stay angry was quickly overruled by her body's demand for sleep.

xxxx

"Humans need food." Kagome stated for the third time of the morning.

"I am aware." The Cold One stated back to her, causing her to roll her eyes. She had been unpleasantly woken this morning at sun rise with a kick. Not a hard one but just enough to pull her from horrible uncomfortable slumber. The only thing she had to look forward to was that they were on the way to somewhere where Inuyasha would be, and Inuyasha would make this all make sense.

_Inuyasha. _Her stomach did some what of a flip. Although she had waited so long to see him, and couldn't wait to be away from Sesshoumaru, she wasn't sure what to say to him. They had been through so much together, but their parting was not very smooth to say the least. Her stomach growled pulling her away from her thinking and reminding her that it was about time to complain about not being fed. If Sesshoumaru had yet to kill her and had from some reason went through the effort to protect her back in the forest, she assumed he would not kill her now. She could of course be wrong, but she wasn't too worried about it for some reason.

However, before she could even open her mouth to complain, she was stopped by Sesshoumaru's sudden halt. Then before she could question this action, she was stopped by the sudden appearance of a man seemingly jumping from a tree branch and landing in front of said person.

By his graceful entrance she knew him to be youkai, but wasn't so sure on his type. His face was narrow and eloquent like Sesshoumaru's, although he was much shorter and slimmer then Sesshoumaru was. He had long black hair, a pale face and black eyes. Very intimidating actually. Captured by the presence of someone other then Sesshoumaru she didn't even notice that he was carrying what seemed to be a sack and, now that she was coming out of her stupor, was talking.

"…Ah-Un are not far behind my Lord." Why did that name sound so familiar? Maybe she should be paying attention more then she was. She noticed Sesshoumaru glance at her over his shoulder and tried to straighten herself up as the other youkai's eyes fell on her, as if he was finally allowed to look her over. She saw confusion pass over his face before he quickly concealed it.

"The food Mysoua." Sesshoumaru said looking away from her and walking without another word to a nearby tree, to which he soon sat under.

Sesshoumaru watched as Mysoua uncertainly handed the wrapped food to the miko. He could read his expression, would be able to read his mind even if he had not shown any indication of it. _This is what we risked our lives for? _His critical black eyes screamed it and Sesshoumaru could not agree with him more. The girl mumbled some thanks to him, to which he did not respond.

With Ah- Un carrying the miko they would make it back to the fortress by night fall, Which was good for two reasons; it would ensure momentarily security where he would be able to access the gash that still was throbbing when it should be healing as well as get the girl out of his hands. He had been with her less then a day and already he grew tried, more and more doubtful with each passing moment. And yet Yasuo had never been wrong.

Kagome almost cried in relief as she opened up the sack that contained two fully cooked fish, some fruit and a slice of bread. Where the black eyed youkai got it from, she did not know and at the moment she did not care.

Speaking of which, the way the guy kept sneaking glances at her was really creeping her out. Of course she wished she could say he was checking her out but that was hardly the case. It was more of a look of disbelief as if he was waiting for her to disappear at any moment. She decided, however, that eating the food he supplied was much more important then even bothering trying to figure out what his deal was. If he was grouped with Sesshoumaru, chances were that she'd be better off talking to a rock.

Just as she managed to scarf down her meal, Ah-Un landed and memories of the two headed dragon rapidly played through her head. Of course! How could she forget the dragons that were so often carrying Rin…_Rin. _She suddenly wondered if the girl was still alive and again she longed to know what had taken place in her absence.

Sesshoumaru was soon on his feet and Kagome reluctantly stood also eyeing him and the dragons. "Get on miko." He instructed her as if that was the most normal thing to do in the world and maybe to him it was.

"I…I've never rode a dragon before." She stated in a low voice, trying to inform him she was not up for the challenge. He did not even spare her a glance.

"Today will be your first. We do not have much time. We must make it back to the west before night fall." He stated in his cold distance voice. She thought about arguing but decided that she was in no position to do so with her current company.

Taking a deep breath she timidly walked up to Ah-Un giving them a gentle pat before climbing on and finding a seat. "Now you'll take it easy on me, okay?" she told them softly and they huffed as if to agree…or disagree, one of the two.

From the corner of her eye she saw Mysoua take off into the day and soon Ah-Un flapped their wings in a powerful gesture, kicking themselves off the ground into the sky. Kagome felt the need to vomit, but instead held on tight to the reigns and tucked her head into their mane. Oh what was she thinking coming back again?

After several minutes the transition between the ground and sky was made and she allowed herself to pick her head up to see that they we're gliding amongst the clouds and although it was a little cool she decided that it wasn't so bad afterall. Stealing a look below, the earth looked as if it was made of patchwork, like a big quilt stretching far.

No not so bad at all from this view.

* * *

**A/N: I've gone back through and edited the chapters although I'm sure I still missed a few things- sorry! I'm working on getting a beta!**

**So sorry for the long abcense, I got a promotion and the last month has been crazy. I will try to get chapters out every week but it'll probably be more like every other week :(**

**please review! It'll make the chapters come faster ;)**

**sorry again!  
**


	5. Waking up to Silk

**Of Fate and Destiny**

**Chapter Four: Waking up in Silk**

Kagome would have drifted off to sleep and most likely have fallen off the two headed dragon if it had not been for the ice cold wind that, despite her hoodie and jacket, seemed to cut straight to her bone. Night had now fallen and if Sesshoumaru had been in distance she would have told him that if they did not stop soon, she would freeze to death. She had kept her head carefully tucked into Ah-uh's mane fearing frostbit would overtake her.

Sesshoumaru was, however, fifty yards ahead or so traveling on his cloud seemingly unaffected by the weather and paying her no mind. If she had thought him to no longer be the cold youkai she once knew, she took it back. Only a truly truly cruel creature would allow her to freeze to death like this.

She had thought about practicing her purifying power that had got her in this mess in the first place-using said youkai as her target of course. This she had in the ended decided against in favor of not upsetting the very uncomfortable dragons that could easily end her life by simply flipping over or turning too fast. It was a shame since at the current moment she wanted nothing more but to in some way inflict so kind of pain on Sesshoumaru. Although part of her knew that she should thank him, since with out him she would have never stood a chance in the forest. An image of the zombie's skin melting under her touch flashed back at her and she shuddered. Perhaps she would have lasted longer then she thought.

Just as she was contemplating just how long she would have lasted, she felt her ride tilt slightly downward. She noticed that Sesshoumaru was no longer in sight and hoped that this all meant that they had reached their destination after all.

Sesshoumaru touched down just before the gates that would open to bring him into his fortress. He paused only long enough to make sure the girl on the dragon would not fall over as slid off the beast. She wobbled slightly and then found her footing.

"Wow this is were you live?" she said softly next to him but he did not answer her. The gates parted and to greet him and the girl came three youkai. Sesshoumaru had wished for a soft entrance and seeing that it was way past midnight, he got it.

"My Lord we did not expect you so soon," One said as he swiftly bowed,

"Circumstances did not permit a staled arrival." He announced. The group was still not making any forward movement and Kagome stood shivering next to him.

Sesshoumaru watched as the youkais looked her over all hiding their surprise of their savior. "This is the miko."

"Kagome." She managed and he said nothing to correct her, nothing actually to acknowledge her.

"Akito, she is to be bathed and given a room to sleep. Stand guard over her room- no one is allowed to see her until she awakes and has eaten. Mysogu I require a healer. Briefing will be held off till tomorrow."

Kagome would have never known that he was in so much but pain by the simple comment but the three youkai knew that if their Lord was requesting a healer he was in bad shape. They had noticed the gash but the worst of it was hidden from sight. Sesshoumaru slowly walked off, one youkai following after him.

"What will happen?" she called after him and she hadn't meant for her voice to sound so small and frail. He stopped turning slightly.

"You are safe." With that he turned and walked through the massive gates. She began to shake fearful that she had walked into some sort of trap.

"You really should relax." One of the youkais said as the other began to walk into the gates. "My name Akito, and like Lord Sesshoumaru said- you're safe now. So stop shaking like a leaf. Come, I will show you were to clean up."

In the dark Kagome could not make out a thing about the youkai but after forcing her frozen limbs to corporate she could soon see him in the torch light.

He was taller then her but not necessarily tall by youkai standards , his long black hair was braided down his back and had clear blue eyes that reminded her of someone that at the moment she could not recall. He lead her to the bathing area in were she took her time bathing herself with only a washcloth afraid that she would aggravate frostbite by soaking in hot water. She took off her clothes and found a simple white kimono to change into before returning to her "guard".

"I'll need another bath in the morning." She told him after he looked at her curiously.

"This is your room- it's one of the better ones actually. You'll find everything that you need in there. In the morning a maid servant will be assigned to you. Do you wish for food now?" His voice was kind enough but she could since the lingering questions in his eyes.

"No. I simply wish for sleep. Thank you Akito-san." She bowed softly and slid the door open to her room. Akito stood in the hall as ordered wondering of the strange girl. Inuyasha has seemed to make it clear that she was not young. He had been greatly mistaken.

Even though she was in a strange place and had no idea what was awaiting her here in this time, Kagome found it relatively easy to sleep that night. Her last thoughts were that maybe tomorrow she'd finally see Inuyasha again.

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"You can't stop me from seeing her!" The hanyou huffed and headed angrily to the door.

"You intend to disgrace you mate by going to another unknown female in the middle of the night Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru asked coolly and Inuyasha stopped and sighed.

"She is not unknown…she's Kagome." He said softly, almost as if he didn't mean to.

"Indeed. And she will still be tomorrow after she is rested." At this Inuyasha turned cocking his head to the side.

"It's not like you to care?" he told him accusingly.

"Hn." Sesshoumaru remarked, regretting coming to his office before the bathing rooms. "It would be inconvenient for her to fall ill, even if she is still a youth, she is still a human."

Inuyasha said nothing for a moment instead he looked over his elder brother. He could tell he was tired and in pain. The cut on his abdomen had yet to heal. The two had arrived a day and a half early and Inuyasha assumed that it was because Sesshoumaru would not have made it so long without a healer. He had been informed that Kagome hade only aged a few years if that.

"So they got you did they?" he asked him in more of a teasing tone. Sesshoumaru threw him a glance as he too walked to the door passing Inuyasha in the process.

"You have me to thank for your miko's safety little brother." He coolly replied receiving a growl.

"She is not my miko!"

"Hn."

/\\\\\\\\

_Oh everything hurts. All the working out at home can not compete with running for your life in this damn era. _

Blue eyes opened enjoying the feel of silk on her. "I didn't even know good beds existed in this time." She mumbled

"Morning my Lady!" at the cheerful voice Kagome nearly fell out of said bed as she looked over to find a black haired female youkai with purple eyes looking at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Uh..yeah, yeah I'm fine you just startled me." Kagome managed to reply as she straightened herself up.

"Well that certainly was not my intention my lady!" the youkai looked somewhat put out and continued to stare at her unmoving.

"It's okay, I'm fine umm…?" she looked at her expectedly and the youkai smiled with a nodded.

"I am Myumi, you're maid servant. I was told to not wake you a moment early and I sensed you were awake so I rushed in! It is after all noon and I figured you'd want to reclaim a portion of the day." Kagome's head pounded as she secretly thought it should be illegal to be so cheerful as someone wakes up.

"Did you say it was noon?" she repeated watching as Myumi removed a blue and green kimono from a closet.

"Oh yes my lady it is. Lady Rin asked me to send you to the gardens when you were ready, I'm sure she'll have lunch brought to you." she said whisking her out of bed.

"R-rin? She's uh…still here then?" she asked unsure of what changes to expect.

"Yes of course where else would she be? Now Lord Inuyasha will not be free till after dinner but-"

"Inuyasha! I can see him today!" she exclaimed suddenly causing the chatty youkai to go suddenly quiet.

"Well yes of course but not till after dinner." She said as she removed Kagome's clothing. Kagome blushed slightly trying to reclaim her innocence but her hands were brushed away.

"I can dress myself." She grumbled but the youkai gave her no attention.

After being dressed, freshened up and having her hair combed and put up with a elegant comb, Myumi shooed her out of the room saying the it was dirty and needed to be cleaned. "But where do I go?" she yelled at the door that had just been slid shut, but there was of course no answer.

"How about with me?" a female voice said and Kaogme turned to see a pretty young lady. She couldn't be any older then her, but Kagome new her face and big smile.

"R-rin?" she whispered stepping closer to her half expecting her to disappear. The girl laughed and slightly bowed.

"Yes Kagome-chan it is me!" she held her arms out and Kagome fully accepted the warm hug.

"Rin you've grown up…but I don't understand three years couldn't have…" Kagome trailed off as they broke apart. Her stomach growled preventing Rin from answering and instead she laughed.

"Three years Kagome?" she asked her with a bit of concern. "How about we discuss a little over lunch."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"Over fifty years!" Kagome exclaimed when Rin informed her with the time lapse that had accured.

"Yes Kagome, we were expecting a much older you to come through the well. Not one that had only aged three years." Rin told her slowly.

"You were expecting me?" she asked and Rin's nodded.

"Yes although I am not the one to fill you in on what has happened. I will tell you it has been 53 years since you left." Kagome fell into silence unsure of what to say and angry that Sesshoumaru had deprived her of this information. Since she was silent, Rin filled the space with talking. Telling her about her life but excluding anything that Kagome really wanted to know.

Rin was now 61 years old, but Sesshoumaru had been delaying her aging by potions of magic, determined to length her lifespan in any way that he could. "Do you ever get tired of taking the potions?" Kagome asked her between bites of food.

Rin sighed her brown eyes wandering about the garden. "Yes. It is my hope that one day I won't have to…He gave my a choice on my 18th birthday. He said if I wanted to live a human lifespan then he would allow it. And if I wished a longer life he'd do everything in his power."

"That was very kind of him." She told her although she couldn't imagine Sesshoumaru being so sentimental.

"Yes…but I have become immune to the herbs in the last few years…and I am aging as normal once again." She said sadly and Kagome wondered how Rin left behind a life of humanity so easily.

"I'm sorry." She said awkwardly and Rin turned to her with a smile.

"You have nothing to say sorry over. Now eat up and I'll give you the grand tour."

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone sorry for the extended abcense! There was a series of unfortant events taking plce but now that everything has calmed down, I can resume writting.**

**I'm going to update every week- every Wednesday actually. I re uploaded chapter two which had the wrong chapter before. Yes i know this is not a very 'juicy' chapter, but it will pick up! Just had to make a transition.**

**Please review!  
**


	6. Hell on Earth

**Of Fate and Destiny**

**Chapter Five: Hell on Earth**

It really was a grand tour. They must have walked for two hours and still not have seen everything. Rin assured her she'd grow use to the fortress but Kagome wasn't so sure.

"Rin, where is Inuyasha? Does he really stay here?" Rin looked somewhat nervous as they turned yet another corner.

"Yes he's here." She answered slowly and Kagome waited for her to go on, but she did not.

"Then why hasn't he come to see me? Is something wrong?" Rind sighed as she stopped walking.

"No Kagome nothing is wrong only…different." She looked as if she would say more but her eyes had found someone else. Kagome turned to see a beautiful female youkai walking gracefully towards them.

"Yasuo I was not expecting you?" Rin told her tensely as the youkai came to a stop in front of them. She smiled slightly first at Rin and then to Kagome.

"Please Rin, I've waited a long while to meet the girl." Her voice was soft and yet firm. Her eyes where I deep dark green pulling Kagome in and making her feel like the youkai was looking into her soul, while her hair was an auburn color with a slight curls.

"Yasuo!" Kagome's heart clenched as she heard the familiar rough voice call down the hall way. She stepped away from the two just in time to see Inuyasha approach. He was different.

He wore a red kimono although she could tell that it was not the same one and on his feet were boots similar to Sesshoumaru's. He had not aged but in his simple body language she could tell that he had matured. His amber eyes met her and she watched as they widened and he was brought to a stop. "Kagome." He said her name in shock looking her over carefully as if she were fake.

She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, to lunge at him and punch him for making her wait a whole day to see him. To ask him a million questions and tell him how horrible it had been for her. She wanted to do all these things but the tight tension in the air and the way he looked over at the other two females instead of whisking her away made her falter.

"Inuyasha?" she asked tears coming to her eyes wondering if time had lost her her best friend.

"I was only stopping by to meet our new guest." Yasuo said softly but Kagome thought she heard a waver in her once firm voice.

"Inuyasha you were told to wait, both of you were told to wait." Rin scolded showing that she was now much more familiar with Inuyasha then she herself was. She pressed her back to the wall suddenly feeling like the outsider she was. What was going on?

"Feh. Like that old bat could tell me what to do!" he replied to Rin now looking at a sad looking Yasuo. "Yasuo don't act like this." He said somewhat angrily and Yasuo frowned.

"I have done nothing Inuyasha. Now if you excuse me I'll be leaving. Welcome Kagome, I have been long awaiting your arrival." She turned quickly and Inuyasha let out a frustrated growl.

"Yasuo wait." He pulled her arm forcing her to face Kagome. "Kagome this is Yasuo, Seer of the West and…my mate."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Shocked could not even describe the feeling that went through her body. She actually would have paid to see how exactly she looked at that moment because she simply had no control of anything in her body. She was sure that she stayed standing like a statue for a good while simply looking at the "couple" and thinking that they were the oddest thing she had ever seen. Yasuo had apologized to her then bowing and taking her leave. Rin had mentioned some thing about tact telling Inuyasha he was born an idiot but that she would give them their privacy and she too left. Inuyasha had then silently lead her away eventually to a room that had a desk and low tables with pillows to sit at.

"You want a drink?" he asked her as she took a seat on the pillow and she shook her head. He then took a seat across from her.

"I don't know what to say." She said softly looking at him hoping to find something that would let her know that he was the same Inuyasha.

"Me neither." He told her with a sigh. "What's it been for you? Three years?" she nodded.

"It's been 53 here."

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. "How about I just start from the beginning?" She silently wondered if what the beginning for him was. When they met or when she left?

"That would be good." She answered and let out a deep breath.

"When you left…I messed up. I let the pride get a hold of me and I wished to follow Kikyou. Only my heart wasn't in it and…well what you escaped from happened. I didn't really want to go to hell, so hell came to me. There's a gash in the ground just a few miles from the well. It's a portal to hell and it's growing bigger and bigger. Anyone can go in…and anything can come out."

Kagome heard the words but she couldn't make sense of it. So that's what she felt in the forest? That's what Sesshoumaru had saved her from. But why him? And how had Inuyasha met Yasuo? What made the two brothers finally get along? And why the hell was she here?

As if sensing her questions he went out. "Anyway the portal was small at first. Miroku Songo and Shippou, we convinced the village to leave until we figured it out. I thought I could handle it, but I never could find a way to close it. The portal began to grow and those bastards started coming out and we soon discovered it was almost impossible to kill the dead, but they could easily kill the living.

"That's when I knew I had to tell Sesshoumaru. He knows stuff you know…so I did. At first he wouldn't even listen to me mostly because I started a fight. But Miroku convinced him to come and see the portal. As soon as he saw it, he left without saying a word to us. He found us weeks later demanding to know every detail of the story.

"Then he said that most likely the jewel rested somewhere in hell since the wish was not pure. He suggested I join him here…that we figure out a way to fix this before it destroyed everything- there were already causalities from my mistake.

"That's how I met Yasuo…Anyway things only got worse and soon we had to join forces with all the other lords, we all made a pact to call off all wars till the matter was dealt with. Sesshoumaru and some of the other Lords and Ladies came up with magic bindings and force fields that would be enough to hold the creatures off into the forest. However, when he went to get you, all those barriers were let down so that he could go in and out. We're not sure how many escaped in that time frame or if they've planned anything."

"Why…why am I here Inuyasha?" she asked him teary eye holding back all the other complaints and questions she had. She didn't know how to act with this new Inuyasha.

"Yasuo…she's a seer. About ten years after this all happened she said that _'From the depths of hell, the Light emerges deep within the dry abyss._' We've waited so long since then we stopped believing that it was true. And then just two days ago she said it was time. I was supposed to be the one to get you but she said it had to be Sesshoumaru."

"Oh." Kagome replied upset angry and sad all at the same time. So once again she was back in the past meant to do some impossible mission, except this time her best friend would not be at her side. Because really how could he be?

Inuyasha gave her a toothy grin. "The Kagome I know wouldn't be okay with this at all." He remarked and she felt like saying the 'Inuyasha I knew wouldn't be mated to a youkai, working with Sesshoumaru, or wearing shoes.' She however reframed.

"You have a mate." She tried to smile but the word sounded strange coming out of her mouth. He nodded not breaking eye contact with her. "Look I don't want you to think that I had my heart set on returning to you because I'm still in love with you. That ended a long time ago, even before I went back home. It's just weird…you're all grown up now."

"Feh!" he crossed his arms and looked away from her. "Not really I just know when to act like I am."

"Oh really?" she asked him laughing a little.

"Of course stupid! You think fifty years with the ice cube could change me? The only reason I wear these things-" he pointed to the boots, "is because in the last few decades I've stepped on a few things that went straight through my foot. And Sesshoumaru left these things in my room so I decided to wear them… And they're comfortable."

At this Kagome really laughed. There was something about Sesshoumaru "playing" the role of the concerned big brother that just really did not fit right at all. "So you two get along now?"

"Well we don't try to kill each other every time we see each other if that's what you mean." He replied roughly but Kagome knew even if he had formed an attachment to his brother he would never admit it to her.

"So Yasuo…she seems so refined." She laughed a little as he rolled eyes.

"Yeah I had to break of that real quick." Kagome sensed that now was not the time to discuss his love life and was happy for the knock at the door.

"Come in Rin!" he called and the door slid open to revile a cheerful Rin.

"I have decided that we should dine together tonight!" she said excitedly and Kagome couldn't help but feel happy with her. Inuyasha across from her, however, groaned.

"Oh shut up Inuyasha! You're coming to dinner with us if I have to drag you in there!" Rin told him with silted eyes.

"Oi! Who are you to make me do anything you little runt." He grumbled facing away from her.

"Kagome you'll come right?" she asked brightly and Kagome didn't really think she had a choice.

"Of course Rin." She told her smiling. Maybe things hadn't changed so much after all. Inuyasha was still just as stubborn, Rin just as cheerful, and Sesshoumaru just as distanced.

* * *

** Here's the next chapter! I promise it will be picking up. Please review if this should be continued**


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